


Surprise, surprise

by DedicatedDetectives



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, i can't write a good title don't @ me, i don't even want to tag this Olivia/Elliot but like, if you squint there are barisi and rolivia hints, only warning is some language, these are some great characters let me tell you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 02:11:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17235362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DedicatedDetectives/pseuds/DedicatedDetectives
Summary: The precinct gets a surprise visitor.





	Surprise, surprise

**Author's Note:**

> I have suuuch a thing for the dynamics between members of this squad. They all play off of each other so nicely.
> 
> Definitely some mentions of Bensler and Barson in here. And if you squint, there are some hints of Barisi and Rolivia. Squint real hard, y'all. They're all bi. Don't @ me. (And what do you mean Rafael Barba left the show? I don't recall). People tend to get mad about The Olivia Benson Show, but not me. That's how I prefer it, because she is a queen. She deserves the attention. 
> 
> I do not own these characters; they belong to the lovely SVU writers.
> 
> I wrote this a long time ago and forgot about it. So, uh, let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy!

A tall, built man walks into the precinct, eyes flicking rapidly in every direction.

Carisi stands to approach him but doesn't actually get the man's attention until he says something. "Can I help you with something, sir?"

Fin quickly approaches the two of them, with a worried expression. He knows him; Carisi can tell.

Before the man can respond, Fin speaks. "Did something happen to the girls?"

Carisi figures this guy is a cop. Fin knows so many cops, and he somehow manages to keep their families straight, too. 

"No, they're fine, thanks. I'm not here about them." He pauses, looking away from Fin and out into the squad room. His eyes land on Olivia's office. "I'm actually, uh, here for her."

"Does she know that?" Fin immediately counters, looking worried.

Carisi wonders who the heck this guy is and why he's causing commotion. Fin's calm almost all the time. 

Fin takes the man's silence to mean no, and he glances worriedly at the lieutenant's office. "I think I had better let her know before she walks out here and sees you herself with no warning," Fin says sharply before walking in the direction of the office.

Fin isn't mad, exactly. He had a long history with him. But Liv has gone through a lot these past few years, and as the guy who had been around her the longest, Fin feels protective of her well-being. He knows she's friends with Barba and Rollins. But he can't keep himself from looking out for Olivia, and he knows she does the same for him. 

"Hey Liv," Fin starts before he even gets to the door. "There's something--" but he's cut off by Olivia walking out of the office door, past him, intently reading the file in her hands as she walks. 

She seems to realize that the men in her peripheral vision aren't going to move out of her way, so she stops and looks up at them.

Papers drop out of the file as she takes a sharp inhale. "Elliot."

"Lieutenant Benson," he says, though his face remains neutral. "Congratulations."

"It's been a few years," Fin comments. "She's been in charge here for a while."

Neither Olivia nor Elliot respond. They don't even bother to look away from each other. 

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

Carisi's nervous; he can't quite get a read on her. But he could probably cut the tension of the room with a knife. 

"Is everything okay?" she asks.

Amanda's ears perked up at the mention of his name, and she has been looking on just as nervously as Carisi has, although she's a bit more in the loop. 

"Yeah. I'm here to see you." He says simply. 

"Now you have." She says as a joke, although she didn't quite reach a joking tone. It falls flat. She just looks at him. 

"I think we should talk," he continues, taking a step towards her. 

"You think?" Olivia says sarcastically as she turns and walks toward her office. Elliot follows behind and closes the door. 

Fin shakes his head as he sits down at his desk, and Carisi immediately starts trailing him down. 

Before Carisi can open his mouth, Amanda calls him over.

"Do you know what all this is about?" He says, putting his hands on her desk and leaning down. "Man.."

"Yeah, that's Elliot Stabler," Amanda begins. "He left right before I came. They were partners for 12 years, and he put in his papers without letting her know."

"How could you just--" Carisi says, shocked. 

"Right? I would never do that to you or Fin, or Liv for that matter if she wasn't lieutenant, and I've only been here a few years."

Carisi nods, agreeing. 

"I don't like the guy," Amanda continues, southern drawl making it sound like the hottest gossip around. 

"You met him?"

"Nah, but I heard about it. People checked up on Liv for weeks. She must've been hurt, really."  
Amanda glances over at Fin, and carisi's gaze follows. Fin's already looking at them. 

"Fin likes him," Amanda states simply. 

"He has his stuff, but we all do." Fin says. He didn’t always like Elliot, but he decided long ago to put their beef behind him. "I worked with him for years. He cares about people, he really does."

Amanda pointedly glances at Olivia's office. "Uh huh."

"You know I don't agree with how he left," Fin says. "C’mon, I love Liv."

"I know," Amanda says. 

Then Barba walks in. 

"She's in a meeting?" He says confusedly, glancing down at his watch. "She said come by at 5."

Neither Fin nor Amanda really want to tell him. Fin loses the silent game. 

"She's talking to Elliot," Fin says cautiously. "Stopped by unannounced."

"She's talking to who?" Barba says sharply, eyes darting towards Olivia's office. "He what?"

"Counselor, it didn't thrill me either," Amanda sighs, but Barba is hardly listening, still looking at the closed blinds on her office windows. 

"Liv can handle herself," Fin says.

They all know he's right, but they all tend to worry about her, anyway. 

"I swear, they better just be talking in there," Barba snaps. 

Sonny looks at him curiously. 

"Liv's probably still on the 'rip his head off' portion of the reunion," Fin says. 

"They could be talking it out, you know, about why he did it," Amanda says. "I'm not sure she would stay mad. She probably got that out of the way as soon as the door shut."

"I don't trust him and I don't trust his motives," Barba says. "Why show up now?"

"Guilty conscience?" Fin chimes in. "You jealous, counselor?" 

Sonny’s eyes fly right to Barba. 

"There's nothing between me and Liv," Barba says, and Amanda nods. She doesn't look at Carisi; she doesn't need to. She knows she lost that bet. Carisi glances down with a slight smile.

"Except friendship, that is," Barba continues. "I'm allowed to worry about her. I know the story just as well as you all."

They all nod in agreement. 

"So, what, was Liv with him?" Carisi asks Barba. "Have a thing for him?"

Barba bites his lip and looks over at Fin. 

"They were partners," Fin says simply. 

"Yeah, but, something beyond that?" Carisi pushes. 

Barba and Fin look at each other. "I don't think so. He was married, usually," Fin says. "Nobody was quite sure, though. Unless you know something I don't, Barba?"

Barba shakes his head. "She never said anything beyond that. I just know that she brought it up to me one night, and he hurt her."

They all nod, silence falling over the group. They aren't necessarily eavesdropping, but they also aren't doing any work or talking or making any noise. 

"Olivia," they hear louder than the din of normal conversation. 

"What, Elliot!" Olivia nearly shouts. "What did _I_ do to _you_?" 

And then they can't make anything out again. 

Fin just mutters a surprised "huh" while Barba winces like he's the one being yelled at. 

All perched on desks, huddled in a circle, they look around at each other, worried. If Liv saw them, she'd kill them. They worry anyway. 

 

***

 

"What did you do to me?" Elliot asks, sounding incredulous. Olivia can't believe it. "You don't know how to give a person space."

"Yeah, well you're great at _that_ ," Olivia says. 

"Do you know how many times you called me?" He asks. 

"You never answered my calls, so no, I don't." She's just as frustrated as he is. 

"Olivia, I had a bad shooting. I shot a kid. I was trying to make a decision. I was trying to make it myself, and not be persuaded."

"We were partners. I thought partners were supposed to help each other. I wasn't trying to make your life harder."

"Right, you were my _work_ partner, not my _life_ partner," Elliot says and Olivia ducks her head. "So I'm pretty sure I know what side you would've been on." He pauses. "I wouldn't have been able to disagree with you," Elliot adds quietly. 

"You know I would've wanted the best for you," Olivia says back. 

"You would've wanted me to stay with you."

"No," she says, shaking her head in frustration, but she doesn't look at him.

"Be honest, Olivia. That's what you've always wanted," his voice is soft but Olivia is starting to feel overwhelmed. 

"Yeah, I wanted you to stay. But you know that I cared about your well-being, too. Outside of the job."

"Cared."

"Yeah."

"In the past."

She pauses. "Yeah."

"Don't lie," he says. 

"I don't think I am lying, Elliot!" She shouts. She takes a breath and lowers her voice. "You hurt me. It has been seven years since I've even seen you, heard from you! You're all about giving people space? You sure did a damn good job of that! When you left and I had to hear it from Cragen? When I got kidnapped by a fucking psychopath? When he escaped prison? Do you not read the news? Do you live under a rock? Or did you just decide that you didn't give a damn about me anymore until 20 minutes ago when you decided to walk into this building?"

 

***

 

"Alright, sounds like she isn't done ripping his head off yet," Fin says, glancing worriedly at the others. 

"I don't like this, and I don't like him," Barba says, and Amanda agrees. They're on the same page, and Amanda's ready to jump behind him on anything that comes out of his mouth at the time being. 

"No, maybe this is good for her," Carisi says. 

"Always seeing the silver lining," Barba smiles at him for a moment. 

"I guess," says Carisi. "I mean it though."

"Carisi might be on to something," Fin agrees. "It would be good for them to both get it out. Maybe she'll come around. They really were close back in the day. It was good for them both."

 

*** 

 

"Liv..."

She’s standing behind her desk, head dropped, arms holding onto the edge, straining. She takes a breath. "I want you to think about whether your excuse is good enough. Because if it isn't, I don't think I even want to bother hearing it."

He pauses, debating. He knows no excuse is good enough, but he decides to say it anyway. "I knew that I messed up, really bad, and the longer I waited, the more scared I was to try to fix it."

She turns away from him, shaking her head. "You decided to show up here today, after years, to.. what? Ask me if I still care about you?"

"I... I guess I just realized that you are one of the best friends I've ever had and I thought maybe we could get some of that back. I don't know why I chose today. I'm a.. bit unpredictable, I guess," he says bashfully. 

"Yeah," she nods, turning back around, and smiles slightly for the first time since he walked in. 

"Olivia I'm.. I'm so sorry."

"Elliot..." She runs her hand through her hair, overwhelmed at all that has happened in the past half hour. 

"You have to believe me, Liv," and every time he uses her nickname, it brings her back seven years. "I know I fucked up, real bad. I know. But I _am_ sorry."

"I believe you," she says. "A lot happened, and I don't know if I can put it all in the past right this second." She pauses and chuckles. "Like you decided to do today, but... I believe you."

"Would you go get some dinner with me? We can talk. We can catch up. We can even keep arguing if you want."

"Yeah," she smiles. "Okay.”

“Oh, thank God,” he laughs. “I honestly thought you’d say no. You were always stubborn.”

“And you weren’t?” She laughs. “Elliot it's... good to see you."

He pulls her into a hug, and after a few moments she pulls back. "Let's go."

They walk out of her office with his hand resting on her lower back, looking content. 

"We," Olivia announces to the huddle, "are going to get some dinner. That's all we are going to do." She pauses to look pointedly at each person in the room, including Elliot. "But you guys can head home, as long as you stay on call."

They hear a chorus of "Thanks, Lieu" and "Enjoy," along with a "Hey, him showing up was good for something, huh?" thrown in by Carisi as they walk out of the precinct, ready to try to rebuild some of what they had once built inside that squad room.


End file.
